Who was Paderewski?
Ignacy Jan Paderewski, a pianist, composer, pedagogue, scholar, entrepreneur, statesman and ultimately the first Prime Minister of Poland, whose dedication and hard work enabled him to become the most sought after pianist of his generation, a status that allowed him to bridge nations, inspire, unite and make a difference in the world. Therefore we are proud to name our pioneer institution Paderewski Academy (PA).
Standard education vs. PA
Standardized piano education results in even the most talented, skilled and motivated graduates struggling to survive in the music industry. They very often lack outstanding piano skills and don’t know the rules of the game within the business. They have difficulty paying off student-loans because they are incapable of making a decent living after their education.
At the Paderewski Academy, short PA, our primary goal is to individually mentor each student’s pianistic and musical growth, help them develop an entrepreneurial mindset and guide them directly into the music business.
Standard Academy
Paderewski Academy
Highly made-to-measure
Personalized classes
Personalized schedule
Year-long classes
Entrepreneurship training
Career guidance
How the PA operates
Paderewski Academy
We are a hybrid learning institution. Classes take place online as well as in-person with our expert faculty from Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Poland, Canada and the United States. Our goal is to follow our patron’s footsteps by unleashing our students’ full potential as pianists, musicians, entrepreneurs, creative artists and overall well-rounded individuals ready for a satisfying life in the performing arts and beyond.
If that sounds interesting, please contact us.
Curriculum
As every human being is different, each brain and pair of hands is in need of different input. Our experts identify strengths and weaknesses of each student and build the curriculum around them. We set particular goals for every student, monitor the progress during the course of the year until those goals are reached. Our panel consists of top experts of the music business, from business generally, active world-class pianists as well as specialists of the fields included in each student's personalized calendar. Our curriculum is designed around each student’s needs and our mission is to carefully guide each pianist along the journey with us, so they are prepared and ready for a successful and satisfying career in the world of music and beyond. The goal is skill, happiness, creativity and readiness to take on any challenge and succeed.
Any questions? Don't hesitate to write us.
Diploma
The main objective of the Paderewski Academy is how each student improves as a pianist, artist and an individual. Our team wants to be sure that each student, upon completing a particular course of study, has the practical skills and knowledge to be able to unleash their potential. However, we do offer a diploma after completing a particular course of study and fulfilling all final requirements.
Get in touch here
BA / MA Degrees
Made-to-measure is the key at the Paderewski Academy and therefore degrees are optional, since the mismatch between degrees and skills available has become a common occurrence in our world. Having said that, we do offer Bachelor of Arts (BA) as well as Master of Arts (MA) degrees for our students in a collaboration with a Swiss University.
If we sparked your interest, please email us.Mentors and Faculty
Our international team of mentors consists of artists, pedagogues, presenters and entrepreneurs, all experts in their field, and all united in the idea of raising the student’s musical awareness to the highest level. Our team focuses on open-minded approach as well as on student’s musicality, creativity and readiness for the well balanced, successful and fruitful career in music.
Our piano mentors have their roots directly in the Golden Age of the Piano: they were themselves taught directly or through “grand-teacher”-relations by Artur Rubinstein, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Vladimir Horowitz, Ignacy Friedman, Alfred Cortot, Wilhelm Kempff, Nadia Boulanger, Heinrich Neuhaus, Zbigniew Drzewiecki, Adam Harasiewicz, Idil Biret and many others from the line of Chopin’s “grand-students”. This rich reservoir of tradition, knowledge and practical approaches – nowadays largely forgotten – is the focus of the Paderewski Academy.
Other mentors
We are collaborating with specialists and experts in music and career-related fields, business and entrepreneurship, who guide the PA-students along the way. The selection of mentors is tailor-made to our students’ needs.
Courses
Academy
- Year-long classes
- 208 lessons / year
- Personalised schedule
- Flexible schedule
- Multiple subjects
- Multiple tutors
- Career advancement
- Possibility of BA / MA degree
- Fee: starts at 23’000 CHF
Masterclass
- Flexible schedule
- 15 lessons
- One subject
- One tutor
- Fee: starts at 1’500 CHF
Founding Team & Mission statement
The Paderewski Academy (PA) was founded by Paulina and Ingolf Wunder in cooperation with Martin Labazevitch to bridge the musical and artistic values of the past, with the entrepreneurial and technological advancements of the present, in order to inspire and educate young musicians of the future. Without personalization and creative approach there would be no Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt and other great musicians that laid the foundation for western music as we know it. The world has changed but the human potential and emotions haven't. Therefore humans are as capable to feel and create music and understand musicality as past generations. We believe that only highly personalized education has the power of making an impact and breaking off from the standardized learning. Therefore the PA strives to combat the regular education's factory approach, which creates so many mostly unhappy, unimaginative musicians and teachers and shape happy, creative and powerful human beings instead, which also happen to be fantastic musicians. Our modern music world is in need of a change and a fresh approach and at the Paderewski Academy our students will find exactly that.
Partners
We have set up a fund to help students that cannot afford the tuition fees.
If you would like to support us, please use the link below.
Donate here
